Tech

4 High-Tech Projects Making Cities More Energy Efficient

The Global Innovation Series is supported by BMW i, a new concept dedicated to providing mobility solutions for the urban environment. It delivers more than purpose-built electric vehicles — it delivers smart mobility services. Visit bmw-i.com or follow @BMWi on Twitter.

Cities around the world are exploring ways to save money and reduce carbon emissions on everything from streetlights to power facilities.

Technology is smarter, too, with wireless and manual controls in place that can adjust green tech systems to suit varying conditions like weather and pedestrian traffic.

Here are four compelling examples of green tech that may change the way urban centers consume and conserve energy.

1. Smarter City Streetlights

The City of Chattanooga completed the installation of Ultra Smart Streetlights this summer using the FlexNet Lighting Control System to monitor and control 350 energy-efficient LED and induction fixtures. The system not only provides a safer environment for residents walking in the areas at night but also reduces carbon emissions.

The lights and lighting system were produced by Global Green Lighting, a local company, and includes a 35-mile “Smart Grid” wireless radio control system that uses its own spectrum so the lights can be dimmed or brightened to respond to different situations, including emergencies.

“The lights are programmed to operate at 50% during park hours, then turned up to 100% when the park is closed at 11:00 p.m. Then they are dimmed back down to 50% and turned off after 12:00 p.m.,” says Don Lepard, president of Global Green Lighting. “The lights can also be manually controlled to increase the light output to 100% at any time, should there be an immediate security issue.”

The Flexnet lighting system is also installed along Frazier Avenue in the city. These lights operate at 50% but can be turned up or made to flash at a moment’s notice by a police dispatcher.

According to Lepard, the lighting operating system is stored on a secured cloud server, and the city engineer can be in a truck with a wireless notebook computer that's connected to the Internet in order to access the control system to adjust any light on the network.

The lights also contain a self-diagnostic system to send a report within 15 seconds of a light going out. The lifetime of LED lights can be 10 years or more, adding to the cost savings for the city because there's less need for maintenance, and the project will have paid for itself in savings within five years.

Chattanooga is the first U.S. test city for Global Green Lighting. The company already has 10,000 of its lighting designs installed in Shenzhen, China and in Malaysia. Starting in the first quarter of 2012, the entire lighting system will be available for export to other cities in the U.S.

Cities that have installed LED outdoor lighting systems from other vendors include Reno, Baltimore, Toronto, Budapest and Adelaide. Boston, Worcester and Cleveland have also announced plans to install LEDs and are at varying stages of deployment.

2. Small Urban Wind Turbines

The Natural Resources Defense Council named the City of Reno a 2010 Smarter City for Energy for a number of green energy projects, including small wind turbines on City Hall. The turbines were part of an initiative with the Department of Energy that studied urban wind.

The city is now eight months into a DOE-funded study that not only demonstrates the efficiency of small wind turbines but also makes data available to residents to help them make purchasing decisions. Nine turbines are currently being tested at four locations throughout Reno — City Hall, Mira Loma Park, Stead Wastewater Plant and a parking garage. Each turbine is a different make and model and is being evaluated for efficiency with measurements including wind currents and speed, peak times and total output.

“Right now, we only have very preliminary data,” says Jason Geddes, the environmental services administrator for the City of Reno. “What we have found, though, is that roof-mounted turbines, like the ones on City Hall, have experienced more turbulence than anticipated and shouldn’t be installed on the parapet, but high enough above the roof to get out of the turbulence zone.”

Geddes also says that the areas they thought would be windy haven’t been windy enough to be a good energy source for consumers. The completion date for the study is December 2015. In addition to wind, the city is testing solar panels.

3. Solar Trees and Groves

Cities around the world are installing photovoltaic (PV) solar structures called “solar trees” as well as arrays referred to as “solar groves” to generate electricity for specific areas, such as parking lots and parks. Some solar trees appear as outdoor art installations, like the ones created a few years ago for an installation outside the Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art (MAK) in Vienna, or the ones erected to encourage tourists to go out at night in Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Others serve additional functions — casting shade in parking lots or offering a charging station for electric vehicles, like the Solar Tree Socket by Envision Solar.

A cooperative solar initiative is taking place in the San Jose area with solar groves being installed in nine parking lots. The initiative stemmed from the formation of the County of Santa Clara's Renewable Energy Task Force in 2008. During that time, the county also began collaborating with other local agencies through the Silicon Valley Joint Venture Group to find ways to bring renewable power to local governments in a more feasible manner. In late 2009, these two initiatives merged and Santa Clara County moved forward with a collaborative renewable energy procurement effort that included eight other Bay Area agencies.

“We did not have the rooftop space at our sites to install enough solar PV panels to make the projects viable. In order to get over this hurdle to make the projects financially feasible, the county made the decision to install them on top of parking lot carport canopies,” says Lin Ortega, utilities engineer and program manager for Santa Clara County.

Ortega says the cooperative efforts of multiple agencies culminated in January 2011 with the award of Solar PV Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) to three different providers. Six of the eight projects are currently under construction, and two are in the final stages of design. The first four projects are expected to come online in late November 2011, with the rest following between December 2011 and March 2012.

Similar solar groves have been built at the University of San Diego, Google’s Mountain View headquarters and Dell's headquarters in Round Rock, Texas. Santa Clara County anticipates an electrical cost savings of $18 million over the next 25 years and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

Says Ortega, “The collaborative procurement effort made it possible to bring solar PV power to local agencies that otherwise would not have had the resources or negotiating leverage to do so on their own.”

4. Tinting Glass Technology

A new building going up in Miami will be equipped with SageGlass, a product by SAGE Electrochromics that can be switched from clear to tinted with the click of a button. The glass can also be programmed to respond to changing sunlight and heat conditions.

“On hot, sunny days, the glass can be tinted to reduce glare and block out heat,” says Derek Malmquist, VP of marketing at SAGE. “On cold, cloudy days, the glass can remain clear to allow sunlight and heat to fill an office or home.”

The glass tinting controls can be integrated into a building management system or operated manually by pressing a button on a wall, says Malmquist. Zoning is also an option, meaning that panes hit by direct sunlight can tint, while ones receiving indirect sunlight can stay clear.

While most of SAGE’s customers are architects, building owners and operators, they also sell into high-end residential markets. SAGE’s glass is being used both nationally and internationally including at Chabot College in Hayward, California; the Port of Entry in Torrington, Wyoming; and Ivanhoe School in Australia.

Also utilizing the tinted glass technology is St. Johnsbury Athenaeum (above), an art gallery in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.

“We are in the final stages of a massive capital project to replace the skylights over our historic art gallery,” says Mary Ellen Reis, development and marketing coordinator for the Athenaeum, adding that the use of SageGlass is the first application of this technology in a National Historic Landmark building. “Replacing the skylights was the first step necessary for us to introduce dynamic and innovative technologies that will enhance our visitors' experience.”

One challenge of the restoration project — “A Touch of Glass” — was to find a solution that maintained the Victorian-style gallery aesthetic. The main goals of the project were to improve energy efficiency and reduce temperature and humidity fluctuations, in addition to preserving the collections within the building by blocking solar radiation that can fade or damage the art. The glass will match the existing historic glass in the skylights.

Says Reis, “The Athenaeum celebrates its 140th anniversary this year, and it is a unique opportunity to introduce a high-tech energy savings solution in such a historic building. The tintable glass eliminated the need for blinds or screens, and the new skylight looks very much like the original.”

Series Supported by BMW i

The Global Innovation Series is supported by BMW i, a new concept dedicated to providing mobility solutions for the urban environment. It delivers more than purpose-built electric vehicles; it delivers smart mobility services within and beyond the car. Visit bmw-i.com or follow @BMWi on Twitter.

Are you an innovative entrepreneur? Submit your pitch to BMW i Ventures, a mobility and tech venture capital company.

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